Victoria Sponge Cupcake

A great British classic!

The combination of fresh strawberry and thick whipped cream epitomizes everything that goes into an English summer dessert, and I put it all into this cupcake! Traditionally a Victoria sponge cake is served as a sandwich cake, which is two light and fluffy textured vanilla sponges filled with sweet strawberry jam and thick, full fat, all-the-calorie whipped cream, lightly dusted with powdered sugar to finish.

Variations on this cake can be made by changing the flavor of the jam to raspberry (or any other summer fruit you prefer) and also by using buttercream instead of whipped cream. I’ve taken some of these variations to create this gorgeous little single serving cupcake. With a rich and fluffy vanilla sponge field with strawberry jam, topped with my light and creamy vanilla buttercream frosting, and fresh sliced strawberry, these little beauties will satisfy those summer flavor cravings!

How to make it…

Cake Recipe:

Equipment:

12 cupcake baking pan

Hand or stand mixer

Medium size bowl

Measuring cups

Paper cupcake liners

Ice cream scoop

Silicone spatula

Ingredients:

3 eggs

175g white sugar (I prefer baker’s, caster, or superfine sugar)

175g butter, softened to room temperature

175g all purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbps milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 ºF.

Line the cupcake baking pan with the paper liners and set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt into a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Into your mixing bowl, add the sugar and softened butter and beat on medium speed using the paddle attachment until well combined and the butter is a light white color and fluffy.

Add 1 egg and a third of the flour mixture into the mixing bowl. Mix on low until just combined. Repeat with second egg and another third of the flour mixture. Repeat a final time with the remaining egg and flour.

Add milk and vanilla essence to the mixing bowl. Mix until it starts to come together.

Stop the mixer and scrap down the edge of the bowl with the spatula. Turn the speed up to medium/high and let the mixer run for approximately 30 seconds. This will ensure all the ingredients are evenly combined.

Using the ice cream scoop, measure out one scoop of mixture into each cupcake case in the cupcake baking pan. Place cupcake baking pan into the oven and bake 18-20 minutes, or until you can stick a cupcake with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Take cupcakes out of the oven and let them sit in the baking pan for 5-10 minutes to cool before removing to a cooling rack.

Cool completely before decorating with frosting.

Frosting Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature

3 C powdered sugar, sifted

1 Tbps milk

1 tsp vanilla essence

Equipment:

Hand or stand mixer

Spatula

Large mixing bowl

Sieve

Measuring cups

Piping bag (x2)

Star piping tip

Method:

Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl.

Add butter to mixer and beat on medium for about a minute until light and fluffy.

Turn mixer down to low speed and add 1 Tbps at a time of the powdered sugar until all is combined. Scrape down sides of the bowl. Add vanilla essence and let the mixer run on low for about 5 minutes. I know this seems like a really long time but, trust me, this will give you really light and fluffy buttercream for decorating and reduce the amount of air bubbles created.

Once the buttercream is light and fluffy in texture, transfer to one piping bag. With the other piping bag, cut off the tip of the bag and place tho star piping tip inside. Cut the tip off the bag with the buttercream and place inside the bag with the piping tip. (This is the double bagging technique that I picked up from another blogger I Am Baker. It’s amazing and makes refilling you piping bag sooo much easier.)

Assembling the cupcakes…

To assemble the cupcakes you will need:

Fresh strawberries, washed and sliced.

Vanilla buttercream in your piping bags, ready with star tip.

Strawberry jam. I use store bought cause I have not mastered making my own (and to be honest in this season of my life with having 3 small kids, I don’t have the time).

Once the cupcakes are totally cooled, use a paring knife to cut out a small cone-shaped divot centered in the top of the cupcake. The hole should be about 1” across by width and extend no further down than half the height of the cupcake. Scoop a small tsp of jam into the hole. Take your frosting and pipe a small swirl on the top of the cupcake and top with sliced fresh strawberry.

As these cupcakes have fresh strawberries on them, you’ll need to store them in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 2 - 3 days at most. Bear in mind that storing the cupcakes in the fridge causes them to dry out faster than if you keep them on the counter.